Perfect
by Shinigami709
Summary: Joey has enough of his father's abuse and alcoholism. He deals with alll the pain with the aid of one Seto Kaiba. Rated R due to possible language, abuse, and to CMA! )


Perfect  
  
Sorry for the long absence. Real life got in the way and still is, but this song won't leave me alone till I get it written. Anyway, I'm not sure how accurate this might be to Joey's life, but from what I heard, the poor kid had it rough. This is a Seto x Joey fic, but not much in the way of yaoi. Anywho.enjoy, read, and review. I also don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, am not making any money from this, and will return the boys in useable condition. I also do not own Perfect, Simple Plan does. Please take the time to review. I do read them, and try to respond to them.  
  
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"Pup, remind me to kill your father when I see him." Muttered Seto as he handed the blonde boy an ice pack before sitting next to him.  
  
With a sniff, Joey put the pack over his right eye. "No, It's okay. I'm use to this. Nothing I do is right for him anymore." He said sadly, cuddling up next to the taller boy and resting his head against Seto's shoulder.  
  
"Joey, why does he do this to you?" asked Seto, wrapping a protective arm around his love.  
  
"I don't know." Joey sighed. He changed positions again so he was now laying with his head on Seto's lap, looking up into ice blue eyes. "He hates me being with you, he thinks I'm useless, he thinks I'm completely stupid because of my grades." Joey trailed off into silence.  
  
Absently stroking the soft blonde silk known as Joey' hair, Seto thought about his love's situation. He knew Joey's father was.rough with him to say the least. And that it was even worse when he was drunk, as he was now. Tonight wasn't the first time Seto opened his door to find Joey there bruised or hurt from his father. "So much like Mokuba and I. Except he's the lucky one. He's got someone to run to." Mused Kaiba.  
  
While Seto was stroking his hair, Joey thought about his father. His thoughts kept drifting to a song that was stuck in his mind.  
  
*Hey dad look at me, Think back and talk to me. Did I grow up according to plan?*  
  
~Flashback~ Joey had been the one to take care of himself and his father ever since the divorce. After school, he'd taken different odd jobs to make enough money to help pay the rent on the apartment and things. In school, Joey's grades never reflected his real intelligence, as Seto could attest to. Joey was always tired from whatever job he had at the time, plus staying up late at night to study, it was no wonder he was always falling asleep in his classes. Sometimes, Joey wondered if his life wasn't planned by someone who was having one hell of a field day watching him suffer. ~End Flashback~  
  
*Do you think I'm wasting my time Doing things I want to do. But it hurts when you disapprove all along*  
  
Despite all of the time he devoted to work and school, Joey still managed to find ways to hang out with Yami, Yugi, and the rest of the group. "That's all dad thought I did. 'Wasting time play that damned card game.' He'd say to me." Joey thought. "Yeah, wasting my time getting enough money to help out Serenity." After Duelist Kingdom, his dad had come down hard on Joey. The night he returned, his father was drunk. As soon as Joey stepped in the door, his father had thrown an empty beer bottle at him cutting his forehead.  
  
~Flashback~  
"What the fuck was that for?" demanded Joey when he got hit.  
  
His father rose from his chair, "Where the hell have you been, boy. No note, no nothing. This better be good."  
  
"Nowhere. I just entered a little tournament. That's all. I was with Yugi. I was safer there than I was here." Joey shot back, more hurt than anything.  
  
Taking off his belt, Joey's dad ordered his son against a wall before beating him with the belt. "That will teach you about running off for days without letting me know where you were."  
  
After that, his father went back to his chair and within minutes passed out. Taking full advantage of the opportunity to get away, Joey did the only thing he could think of. He called Seto. ~End Flashback~  
  
Only a few days ago Joey had told his father about Seto. It came unexpectedly. Joey needed to grab some things from his room to take to Seto's. Praying his father wasn't home, he ran inside while his cinnamon haired love waited in the living room. Joey's father came in from the kitchen sober, demanding to know who Seto was. Letting his CEO demeanor take over, Seto replied, "Kaiba. Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp. I'm waiting for your son." Ending the conversation at that. Joey's father had just brushed it all off calling Seto a rich bastard. Joey came in then and saw his father. He turned to Seto with a "help me" look on his face.  
  
"Come on, Pup, let's go." As he put an arm around Joey's waist.  
  
"Joseph." His father growled. "Exactly what is HIS arm doing around YOU?"  
  
Whispering a quick, "Oh shit", Joey turned around slowly to face his father however, it was Seto that spoke up first.  
  
"Sir, I will put my arm, hands, or anything else I feel like, where I feel like on your son, who is also my boyfriend." With that, he took Joey's hand and led him out the door, his back turned to Joey's father's shouts of "I will not have my son dating a faggot!" And "Walk out that door Joseph, and I have no son!"  
  
"Yeah, dad really followed through on that promise." Joey mused. "He still hates Seto, but still claims me as his son when its convenient. Or when he needs money. "Why does he hate what I do, no matter what I do?" Asked Joey, not realizing he's said this out loud .  
"Who, Mutt?" asked Seto, using his favorite pet name for Joey.  
  
"Nothing. Just thinking about us and my father." He replied a little sad.  
  
Leaning over to give Joey a sweet kiss, he whispered, "Don't think about him. As for us, please, let me in on your thoughts." Seto challenged, making the blonde blush.  
  
*And now I try hard to make it I just want to make you proud. I'm never gonna be good enough for you. Can't pretend that I'm alright And you can't change me*  
  
After the blow up with his dad, Joey started trying to improve on his grades, taking on more responsibility at work, and not hanging with the gang as much. One day his father approached him.  
  
"Joseph, why are you late coming home from work now? Are you still seeing that faggot boyfriend of yours?"  
  
Glaring at his father he replied, "Yes, I'm still seeing him, but that's not the reason. I got promoted to supervisor and I'm getting trained now."  
  
"Fine" was all he said before leaving the room and Joey in silence.  
  
In his room, Joey was talking to himself, "Damn it, Dad, nothing is ever good enough to get any kind of praise from you! You want me to be like you. If I'm not, then there's something wrong with me. I'm sick of it." Then out loud, Joey declared, "I'm not changing who I am, what I believe, or most of all, who I love."  
  
*Cause we lost it all Nothing lasts forever, I'm sorry I can't be perfect.  
  
Now it's just too late, and we can't go back I'm sorry I can't be perfect~  
  
~Before today's fight~  
  
Joey was getting ready in a tight black shirt and black pants. His father came in and asked who he was going to rob.  
  
"Nobody. I'm going to see Seto. We have a date tonight." Joey answered, knowing that a fight was coming.  
  
"I thought you weren't seeing that bastard anymore. Why can't I have a normal son who does as he's told? I told you, if you keep seeing him, I won't have a son any more." With that, his father went to the kitchen and could be heard pulling out a bottle.  
  
Ten minutes later, Joey went to leave and was stopped again by his father. Grabbing his son roughly by the collar, he growled," I thought I told you not to go see that rich fucking bastard."  
  
"I don't care! I love him, and you won't change that. Seto shows me more love than you ever have! Let me go!!!"  
  
Surprisingly, Joey's father let him go. However, the surprise was short lived as pain shot through Joey's head and stars danced before his eyes. "Stay away from him. He'll give you some kind of gay disease."  
  
Joey sat on the floor for a minute trying to clear his head. When he was reasonably sure of his ability to stand, Joey ran from the house, straight to Seto's mansion. Joey left so quickly, he never noticed that his vision in his right eye was a bit blurry. Reaching Seto's door, Joey knocked and waited, looking over his shoulder as if he expected to see his dad trailing him.  
  
Mokuba answered the door. "God Joey, what happened?"  
  
"Huh?" He answered, wondering what the younger Kaiba was talking about.  
"Joey, your eye's all black and blue. Who hit you?" Mokuba asked again as he led Joey inside.  
  
"Dad did." Joey replied to nobody. Mokuba had run to find Seto.  
  
That's where everything started with Seto giving his Pup the ice pack. ~End Flashback~  
  
Still laying on Seto's lap, Joey began to cry silently. He couldn't help it. He felt bad because he use to like his father before the divorce.  
  
*I try not to think about the pain I feel inside Did you know you use to be my hero? All the days you spent with me now seem so far away And it feels like you don't care anymore*  
  
"Pup, what's wrong?" asked Seto, panicking slightly. He'd not seen Joey cry in front of him before and had no clue of how to handle this situation.  
  
"Seto, why won't he like me? We use to get along. He'd take me for little trips, he'd play with me, he'd let me help him fix things. What went wrong?" Joey asked through tears.  
  
The pain in his voice hurt Seto more than any kind of pain. Mostly because he could sympathize with his love. "It's hell when your father doesn't seem to care." He pulled Joey up to sit between his legs as he cradled him in his arms. "Feel like talking about it? Get it off your chest"  
  
Wiping his eyes, Joey replied, "Not really. When I was little, I looked up to my dad. I wanted to be just like him. He was always nice to me and even to Serenity." Putting his head on Seto's chest, Joey continued, "That was so long ago. Things have really changed. I miss how it use to be."  
  
Having a tough childhood himself, Seto said nothing, but held Joey close to him and whispered the only thing that he thought might help the blonde. "I love you." It was something Seto never heard from his adoptive father and never remembered hearing from anyone else save Mokuba.  
  
*And now I try hard to make it I just want to make you proud I'm never gonna be good enough for you Can't stand another fight, and nothing's alright.*  
  
I don't want to go back there again. Ever." Admitted Joey, knowing that staying with Seto would be impossible. He didn't want to impose on the CEO. He had his life to manage too. "Everything I've done, the only thing I wanted is for my old man to say one time he was proud. That's all." Joey had suddenly become very interested in his hands. He couldn't look into Kaiba's blue eyes. He was too ashamed for the whole evening.  
  
Putting a finger under his Pup's chin, he forced their eyes to me. "Joey, you don't have to. You can stay here. You always could. All you needed to do was ask." Placing a kiss on the stunned blonde's lips, Kaiba leaned back and waited for a response.  
"I can't take another fight. I really can't. At home, there's nothing for me. Nothing's okay there anymore."  
  
"It's your decision, Mutt. I'll be back. You think on it." Seto got up to go to the kitchen. He returned minutes later with some Pepsi for Joey and Mountain Dew for himself.  
  
Breaking into a small fit of giggles Joey gasped out, "No wonder you never worry when we have sex. You know that shit's bad for you, right Moneybags?"  
  
"Shut up, make inu." Kaiba teased, using another of his pet names reserved for harassment. Usually, that would have made Joey want to rip the CEO a new asshole, but now had become a twisted term of endearment. "Have you made a decision about staying here?"  
  
With a sigh, Joey admitted, "Yes. Can you help me get my things in the morning?"  
  
"We can do it right now, if you want, Pup." Kaiba said, more than willing just to tell Joey to forget his stuff, he could get all new things.  
  
"Yeah, might as well get it over with. Let's go so I can start a new life." Joey stated.  
  
inutes later, the two teens were inside Joey's apartment gathering his things. Both froze when they heard footsteps outside of the door.  
  
"Joseph, you better not be in there with your boyfriend. I'll have the cops here in no time."  
  
"Go ahead, and while you're talking to them, be sure to tell them how you beat your son and treat him like an animal." Seto answered.  
  
Breaking the door down, Joey's father glared at the CEO. "You little rich brat. Apparently nobody ever taught you not to talk to your elders like that!"  
  
"No, Sir, they never taught me to deal with an ass like you."  
  
Both of you stop it!" Joey yelled. "Seto, let's just go. Dad, I'm sorry. I'm leaving."  
  
*Cause we lost it all, nothing lasts forever, I'm sorry I can't be perfect. Now it's just too late, and we can't go back. I'm sorry I can't be perfect. Nothing's gonna change the things that you said*  
  
Joey continued, "I'm sick of being treated like shit. I'm not perfect and I never will be. You've hurt me with all you've said, Dad. About Seto, about me, about everything. It's over. You have your wish. You no longer have a son.  
  
*And nothing's going to make this right again. Please don't turn your back, I can't believe it's hard just to talk to you But you don't understand.*  
  
Joey's father turned to leave. He started out of the room, but his son called him back. "Dad, nothing is going to change this decision. Nobody can talk to you except your damn beer. You've never understood me. You don't know what I've been through to try and help you. I can't do it anymore. I'm going where I'm appreciated. Know this though, Dad. I never stopped loving you. Not till now." With that, Joey grabbed the bags he'd been packing. "Seto, lets go. There's nothing for me here anymore."  
  
he entire trip had taken just under an hour. On the way home, neither boy spoke, both apparently lost in their own thoughts. However, when they got home, Joey pulled Seto into a hug. "Thank you for tonight. I'm sorry I'm not perfect. My father never understood that."  
  
*Cause we lost it all, nothing lasts forever, I'm sorry I can't be perfect. Now it's just too late and we can't go back I'm sorry I can't be perfect.*  
  
"Pup, you've always been perfect. You've made my world turn completely upside down. Joey, I want to show you how love is suppose to be. Without fear, pain, or your father. Le me show you?" Kaiba offered.  
  
All Joey could do was stare. First, Seto freed him from the hell that was his life, then he freed him from his father. Now to free him from all the painful memories, it was too much for Joey to bear. He pulled Seto into a desperate hug, murmuring, "Yes, please show me." Over and over.  
  
Picking up his puppy, Seto took him into his bedroom and proceeded to undress the blonde. "Love, we can start the lessons tomorrow. Right now, we both need sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us. We need to get papers for you, and change some things around. So much to get ready for a Pet." Seto teased.  
  
Joey playfully swung at Kaiba's shoulder. "You know, I never agreed with my old man on much, but he may have been right on one thing." He said with a smirk.  
Cocking an eyebrow, Seto wondered where this was going. "And that is?"  
"You are a brat. But you're mine, Moneybags." Joey broke into a fit of real laughter.  
  
To Seto the sound was melodic and sweet. "Pup, I can see I'm going to have to keep you on a short leash." He responded as he slid into bed next to Joey, wrapping his arms around his Puppy. Kissing him, he told Joey the words he knew both of them needed to hear. "I love you."  
  
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That's all for this round. Hopefully I'll be able to get another story up soon. Till then, Ja ne! 


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